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The team approach to fighting cancer
Some of the brightest minds in veterinary and human medicine are teaming up in an unprecedented effort to cure cancer in dogs within the next 10 to 20 years - and possibly find common elements in preventing, treating and curing cancer in humans. Falling under the umbrella of the Morris Animal Foundation's Canine Cancer Campaign, researchers and agencies around the country who specialize in human and animal cancer are working together to collect tumor samples, study the causes of the disease and, ultimately, find a cure. Discovering breakthroughs in childhood cancers is a particular focus of the consortium. For a story on the campaign, go to http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/may07/070501d.asp. For more information, contact David Kirkpatrick at (847) 285-6782 or by e-mail at dkirkpatrick@avma.org.
Long may they run
How do they do that? Dr. Erica McKenzie, a veterinarian and researcher at Oregon State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, is trying to figure out how sled dogs can run more than 1,000 miles in the Iditarod and still want more. She believes that finding out how the dogs maintain such a grueling pace over the nine-day race may one day benefit human endurance athletes. For more information, contact Dr. McKenzie at (541) 737-4809 or by e-mail at erica.mckenzie@oregonstate.edu.
A new tool against avian flu
Auburn University veterinary professor Dr. Haroldo Toro has developed the first egg-injected vaccine to protect chickens against highly pathogenic avian influenza, a deadly virus that has yet to appear in the United States but has decimated poultry flocks in Asia and killed nearly 200 people. The new treatment is expected to provide effective protection against any strain of avian influenza, and could reduce the risk for human exposure. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Beard at Auburn University at (324) 844-3699 or by e-mail at beardgb@vetmed.auburn.edu.
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Shoring up the ranks
The safety of our nation's food supply is at risk, and the number of students graduating from veterinary school is not enough to meet the demands of a growing population and the changing public health needs of society. Legislation before Congress, however, could help avoid severe shortages in the fields of public health veterinary medicine. As detailed in a recent article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA), successful passage of the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act could mean $1.5 billion in funding over a 10-year period that would create a federal grant program to bolster the number of food supply and public health veterinarians coming out of college. For a look at the article, go to http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/apr07/070401a.asp. For more information, contact David Kirkpatrick at (847) 285-6782 or by e-mail at dkirkpatrick@avma.org.
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A sampling of interesting upcoming events and pet-related campaigns ...
National Dog Bite Prevention Week, May 20, 2007 – May 26, 2007: The American Veterinary Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Kennel Club and the U.S. Postal Service team their efforts to educate the public and help reduce the 4.7 million dog bites and 800,000 visits to doctors and emergency rooms that occur each year. For more information, visit www.avma.org or www.cdc.gov.
American Veterinary Medical Association Annual Convention, July 14, 2007 – July 18, 2007: More than 4,000 veterinary leaders in food safety, public health, comparative medicine, research and companion animal medicine will attend the AVMA's 144th annual convention in Washington, D.C. A cornerstone of the convention will be how to better protect the public from emerging and zoonotic diseases, how to safeguard our nation's food supply and what can be learned from the recent national pet food recall. For more on the convention and its roster of speakers, go to http://avmaconvention.org.
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